In the beginning
by BobHasRainbowVeins
Summary: Steve and Tony were incapable of doing anything the normal way, which is why it all started with two first dates.


On their first date, they ate pizza.

It wasn't a first date at all, really, but Clint and Natasha were called off on SHIELD business last minute, Thor was in Asgard, and Bruce claimed he needed some 'alone time' which was another way of saying he was feeling a little _green_. It wouldn't be the first time an Avengers family night had fallen apart, but it was the first time Steve and Tony were the ones left out of their team. So Tony decided what the hell, why not have pizza with Steve. Maybe he'd finally get up the courage to make a move on the super soldier after months of unnoticed pining.

The two of them sat and ate pizza together in awkward silence, neither of them knowing what to say. Tony picked at the pepperonis on his single slice, his fingers itching to grab his tablet and work in order to make himself more comfortable. Steve chose a different way to push away the silence, stuffing piece after piece of pizza into his mouth, literally. It ended badly, with gooey mozzarella getting caught in his throat and him having to excuse himself to get a glass of water. He didn't come back, and Tony didn't expect him to, soon leaving the room himself and heading to his lab.

Ok, it was a shitty not-first date.

Their _real_ first date was much better. Kind of.

Much to Tony's relief, joy, and frustration, Steve was the one to ask him out on a date in a roundabout way. It had been two months since the pizza incident, as he liked to call it, and Steve'd finally caught on to his crush. With red ears and averted eyes, he asked Tony if he'd like to go to Central Park for the afternoon. Tony was too distracted, stuck between shock and amusement at the man's nervousness, to think things through, and so he said yes immediately. Unfortunately, a famous rich guy like Tony Stark couldn't go out anywhere without being noticed, and the park was covered in people.

Neither man realized their mistake until all eyes turned on them as they walked down the sidewalk. When shrieks broke out among the crowds and people began to swarm around them, they scrambled to get away, not stopping until they had run several blocks to a hole-in-the-wall diner. Steve laughed and had to rub Tony's back as he bent over and struggled to breathe.

At the time, he'd grumbled, saying something like, "Oh yeah, real funny. You're not the one with restricted lung capacity and a giant piece of metal machinery in your chest."

Being as exhausted as he was, the brunet insisted on eating lunch at the rundown place. Steve hurriedly agreed, on the condition that he would be the one to pay for food.

Lunch wasn't a complete disaster. The food was actually delicious, but the mealtime entertainment was the best part. Tony ordered a chicken melt sandwich while Steve got a hamburger. After their food was delivered to their table, Tony decided to entertain himself, sliding his foot up the inside of Steve's thigh as he went to bite into his large burger. Startled, he squeezed his burger between his hands, causing all of the ingredients to catapult onto his shirt. It was Tony's turn to laugh, doing so until his belly ached and tears blurred his vision. As soon as he calmed down enough to wipe his eyes clear of wetness, he noticed Steve's dumbfounded expression, sitting there like a lost puppy, staring at the lettuce, tomatoes, ketchup, and mustard splattered all over his nice shirt. Tony only laughed harder.

The real first date was overall a success, ending with Tony receiving a peck on the cheek once they got back to the tower, right before Steve fled to his own floor.

Progress had finally been made.

By their fifth date, Tony figured out that nothing they did together would ever go the way they planned.

That night, they'd gone to a Stark-funded gala and, in an attempt to keep Tony from boredom, Steve accidentally ousted them both. One minute, there was a large, gentle hand curved around Tony's hip, the next, his vision was flooded with camera flashes. The sudden attention caught the blond off guard, but after several moments, he found that he couldn't care less. After that, he made a point of dragging his date out onto the dance floor for two hours of sensual dancing.

It was that night, the night of their fifth date, when their relationship took a huge leap forward. Once they returned home from the gala, they were on each other like feral animals, tearing at each other's clothes as their mouths clashed, kissing, licking, and biting. They managed to make it to the bedroom with tattered clothes, shirts that hung off their bodies at awkward angles and pants that were torn at the zipper and sagging. It was with that fire, that passion, which they had sex for the first time. It was fast and hard, but the pain and love was oh so sweet.

Their fifth date was also the first time they exchanged I love you's, in the midst of post-coital bliss, as they were wrapped up in each other's arms. Safe.

On their twenty-second date, Tony Stark proposed to Steve Rogers. It was a memorable 4th of July, perhaps one of the happiest days in Steve's entire life.

He said yes.

On their fortieth date, they got married. It was warm, the air smelled like an old, dusty cabinet, and Clint would not stop fidgeting.

Bruce got to cut the cake.

On their seventieth date, they were not alone. It was the first time they took their newly adopted son, Peter, out and about.

Peter got to messily eat an ice cream cone while riding on his Papa's broad shoulders like he ruled the world.

On their one hundredth date, they stopped calling them dates. They became part of their everyday life.

They stopped counting.

On their final date, two men with graying hair sat in a white room together, side by side, fingers intertwined. It was the last time Tony ever said I love you, though the same could not be said for Steve.

Even after the heart monitor flat lined, even after that final breath, Steve didn't stop. He never did.

Until his own life drew to a close, never once did he stop thinking 'I love you', and every time there was a reminder, whether it be an old friend, or an article in the newspaper, Steve was immediately brought back to that first date years ago, when he choked on his pizza and Tony hid a smirk behind his wrist.

The very beginning.


End file.
